On 26 March, the Government announced the following details of the coronavirus financial support package they have put in place for self-employed persons.
Eligibility
To be eligible, you have to have:
- Submitted a self-assessment tax return for 2018/19;
- Traded in 2019/20, be trading when you apply (or would be if it was not for Covid-19), intend to trade in 2020/21 and have lost profits due to Covid-19;
- Trading profits must be less than £50,000 and account for more than half of your total taxable income for the year – this is determined based on:
- Income from self-employment in 2018/19 must be less than £50,000 and account for more than 50% of total taxable income; or
- Average trading income for 2016/17, 2017/18 and 2018/19 must be less than £50,000 and account for more than 50% of total taxable income
- Directors of owner-managed businesses are not covered under this scheme but may be able to claim under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme for any salaried portion of earnings, if the meet the criteria.
How Much You Will Get
You will receive a taxable grant of 80% of the average trading profits of the tax years 2016/17, 2017/18 and 2018/19, up to a maximum of £2,500 per month
How To Apply
HMRC will contact all persons who are eligible to apply and invite them to apply online via gov.uk.
Applications are not yet open and are not expected to open until June.
After You Apply
Once HMRC receives and assesses your claim, if it is accepted, they will contact you to inform you of how much you will receive and the payment details.
For further details, please visit the business support pages of gov.uk.